Character Study: Marie Kashpaw In Love Medicine (Essay Sample)

Name
Course
CHARACTER STUDY - “LOVE MEDICINE”
MARIE KASHPAW
Introduction
In the book "Love Medicine," Louise Erdrich transcribes about the lives of Native American families and relationships during the period between 1934 and 1983. The story is set on an unnamed Native American reservation of the Chippewa tribe in North Dakota. The story follows multiple characters throughout their lives while they encounter new experiences and people. The novel introduces the main character Marie Lazarre as a youth and follows her life through marriage and old age. The focus of this paper will be to study the character of Marie Lazarre (later Marie Kashpaw). Marie is in search of her identity as she is a mixed blood in a Native American family. The study focuses on her early life, her religious beliefs throughout her life, her experiences in the convent and later her marriage to Nector Kashpaw and her relationship with her family.
Early Life
The novel suggests that Marie Lazarre was born in the 1920s, she is born a mixed blood as her father is white. She is raised by Sophie and Izear Lazarre who are her supposed family, her mother Sophie is said to be an old drunk. She is a child of the Lazarre family which has a bad reputation and she is also considered a lowlife because of her half white descent. Marie is raised on the Native American reservation but does not fit in as she is not considered as part of them. Marie tries hard to redefine her identity to earn cultural acceptance and respect but end up stuck between two paradigms which she does not completely belong to. She undergoes religious and cultural conflicts in an attempt to empower herself and fit in but realizes they cannot entirely blend.
Early Beliefs
At the beginning of the novel, Marie Lazarre wants to be acknowledged as a Catholic white girl which she believes suits her. At the age of fourteen, she joins the Sacred Heart Convent in search of a new identity among the Catholic sisters. Marie denies her Native American descent, and she embraces her whiteness and finds her place in the Catholic and white community. She tries hard to demonstrate that she is a good individual like the nuns and devotes herself to praying frequently. Marie believes that proving to be the best Catholic will earn her a place and respect among the people. She wants to earn the highest achievement of sainthood through complete devotion to the ways of the Catholics. Her obstinacy and spite seem to surpass her genuine belief in the church and God. She yearns for an esteemed identity and fitting in, and if it requires her to be a devoted Catholic, then she will be best Catholic there is.
At the time the convent was the perfect place for a woman seeking authority and respect in the white community. Marie not being born in a Catholic or white society proves to be difficult for her to identify with it. She, however, believes that she dons the role of a good Catholic girl she will eventually be part of the community. Marie does not have a strong faith in the ways of the church but takes the church as a means of belonging. She believes that her world view is completely separate from her outside appearance and devotion in the church will give her a new identity. Marie states that “I had the mail-order Catholic soul you get in a girl raised out in the bush…” CITATION Erd04 \l 1033 (Erdrich, 2004) Emphasizing her weak faith in church but believes it’s a way of belonging. To Marie, the Catholic convent is a place to redefine herself and build a new identity among the community she feels closest to. She wants to be valued and accepted irrespective of her heredity unlike in the reservation where she is looked down upon.
Marie and Sister Leopolda
In the Sacred Heart Convent, Marie meets Sister Leopolda and becomes her understudy. Sister Leopolda is a zealous nun who has a strong belief in the church and shows this by tormenting both herself and Marie. Sister Leopolda believes she sees the devil in Marie and goes to extreme lengths to eliminate him from Marie. The Sister tortures Marie frequently at the hopes of freeing her from Satan as she is a reservation girl with shamanic beliefs. Marie has a love/hate relationship with the Sister; she trusts the nun because she looks up to her but also hate her because she tortures and torments her. Marie says that “But I wanted Sister Leopolda’s, heart… sometimes I wanted her heart in love and admiration. And sometimes I wanted her heart to roast on a black stick CITATION Erd04 \l 1033 (Erdrich, 2004) which perfectly describes their relationship. Marie strives to receive love and respect from Sister Leopolda, unlike Leopolda who seeks the adoration and love of God. The Sister justifies her actions towards Marie and attempts of commencing her to the Catholic faith as a portrayal of love. Marie does not possess a strong faith in God like Sister Leopolda because she only seeks attention and approval from her to fill the emptiness and loneliness she feels.
Marie and Sister Leopolda relationship stems from their struggle with the Dark One or Satan. They have a similar interpretation of Satan even though they each describe it with a different name. They are the only ones in the convent who see it without appearing peculiar to them. The similar perception of the Dark One by both Marie and Sister Leopolda portrays their shamanic and religious perceptions. Marie has a shamanic viewpoint of interpreting things but does not link it to her Native American roots. Sister Leopolda, on the other hand, is a devoted Catholic, but some of her actions showcase her shamanic perception. The nun uses torture to drive away Satan from Marie’ body and mind which shows her shamanic way of handling the issue.
During her time in the convent, Marie has a violent relationship with Sister Leopolda which we see on several different occasions. The first violent encounter between the two is when Marie provokes Sister Leopolda by grinning in response to the vision of Satan. Sister Leopolda infuriated then shouts at her and shuts her in a closet to drive the devil away from her soul. Marie reacts by declaring revenge towards the nun: she plans to become a sister and go to heaven before Leopolda and lock her out. The next encounter is in the nun’s quarters where both of them are performing chores as Sister Leopolda closely studies her. When Marie drops a utensil under the stove Leopolda forces her to recover it. Sister Leopolda steps on her neck then pours hot water on Marie’s head to burn out the devil inside her. It is the nun’s attempt at exorcism which works as Marie describes “I felt I had no inside voice, nothing to direct me, no darkness, no Marie” CITATION Erd04 \l 1033 (Erdrich, 2004). Marie experiences no thoughts in her mind which proves that the nun has successfully initiated her into the faith.
After the ordeal, the Sister takes Marie to her quarters and applies ointment on her burns where she has a major outburst. As the two go to the downstairs convent oven to take some bread, they have their final and most violent encounter yet. Marie tries to push Leopolda into the hot oven but is unsuccessful as the Sister recoils and attacks her. Leopolda impales her hand with a fork from the oven and knocks her out completely. The purpose of their struggle and encounters is to outdo and have power over each other. Marie wants to exceed Leopolda’s accomplishments and eventually become a saint to be triumphant. Sister Leopolda cruel treatment towards Marie is a way of indoctrination; the nun is attempting to eliminate the shamanic ways in Marie’s mind and commence her into the Catholic faith. Marie believes that if she defeats the Sister in the physical and mental battle, she will be the better Catholic and attain sainthood and respect.
In the last fight after Sister Leopolda stabs Marie’s hand and knock her out, Marie regains consciousness and finds the nuns praying beside her. Marie states that “I was being worshiped. I had somehow gained the altar of a saint” CITATION Erd04 \l 1033 (Erdrich, 2004) somehow she had attained sainthood. Sister Leopolda in an attempt to free herself from being accused of violent torments towards Marie lied to the nuns about her wound. She claimed the wound appeared out of nowhere implying that the wound as the stigmata of Christ. Marie is now considered a saint in the eyes of the nuns, and she has finally earned power and respect. Unfortunately, her triumph is short-lived as she starts feeling remorse towards Sister Leopolda. Marie claims that “It was a feeling more terrible than any amount of boiling water and worse than being forked” CITATION Erd04 \l 1033 (Erdrich, 2004) which her feelings of pity for the nun. Marie’s finds out that her weakness is her feelings. She thought that such a win over the Sister will satisfy her and finally get what she has always wanted.
Marie’s realization that Sister Leopolda is flawed too makes her shift her attitude towards the nun. She realizes that the devil is in Leopolda too because she lied to protect herself from scrutiny. Sister Leopolda used torture as a means to cope with the fear that she has the devil in her too. The realization heals Marie’s mental and emotional wounds she got from the nun’s torments. Marie comes to a conclusion that she does not want to be a Catholic any longer and leaves the convent for good. Even though she attained what she lurked for, sainthood and respect, she grasps that she does not want it anymore. Marie leaves to seek an identity that suits her transition to adulthood in search of love and liberation. Marie comprehends that the torture and torments in the convent made her stronger mentally and emotionally and made her grasp what she wanted in life.
Marie and Nector Kashpaw
Marie...